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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — a match
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. object — an aim
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — for paper
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com